


blindsided

by weknowgirl



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: College AU, F/F, as always... they’re useless lesbians, even though basically none of it has to do with college
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-28 19:24:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15056081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weknowgirl/pseuds/weknowgirl
Summary: “Aquaria had finally given in. Two months, three weeks, and five days into the semester and she was getting pretty tired of being single...””... Here she was, looking into her friend’s earnest doe-eyes and agreeing to let Blair arrange a blind date for her. What could go wrong?”





	1. the date

Aquaria had finally given in. Two months, three weeks, and five days into the semester and she was getting pretty tired of being single. Throughout the year Aquaria had seen all her friends gradually pairing off; all the girls she knew from high school had boyfriends, and Vixen and Blair had finally stopped making goo-goo eyes at each other in November. Now it was December: holiday season was approaching, and Aquaria didn’t want to spend the winter alone— or worse, a third wheel. That’s why, she told herself, she finally said yes to Blair’s insistence on setting her up with someone. Blair had spent the whole year inviting her to so-and-so’s house parties and this-and-that singles’ events, all of which Aquaria rejected in favor of sitting in her room with her fashion magazines. But here she was, looking into her friend’s earnest doe-eyes and agreeing to let Blair arrange a blind date for her. What could go wrong?

 

**Blair - 11:49 AM**  
are u almost ready???? im picking u up in 20!!!! its gonna be great :D  <3 <3   
**Aquaria - 12:02 PM**  
fuck.  
**Blair - 12:02 PM**  
u didnt forget did u?? u cant be late!!!!  
**Blair - 12:04 PM**  
im outside!!!! hurryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy  <3  
**Blair - 12:07 PM**  
aqua??????  
**Blair - 12:08 PM**  
helloooooooooooooooooo

Aquaria threw her phone onto her bed and rushed to the closet, cursing herself for sleeping in so late. Blair had scheduled the blind date for 12:30, lunch at a bakery not far from campus. But Blair had insisted on picking Aquaria up at 12:10 regardless; punctuality, she’d said, is the seventh-most important thing in any relationship. But Aquaria had slept until noon, again, and had totally forgotten about the date, which left her where she was now, sifting through piles of unfolded clothing to find something that at least halfway matched. There was a sleepy mumble behind her, and she turned to see a bundled pink blanket stir.

“What time is it?” the blanket grumbled.

“Like noon,” Aquaria told the Brianna-shaped lump.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, that’s what I said too.” And she went back to her search. Eventually, she settled on a baby pink tank top and black cutoffs, and jetted out the door before her drowsy roommate even got out of bed.

 

“You’re a whole six minutes late!!” Blair trilled as Aquaria slid into the passenger seat of the Volkswagen Beatle.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Six minutes late for being fifteen minutes early. I think my date will manage.”

Blair frowned. “You know that punctuality is—“

“—the seventh-most important thing in a relationship,” Aquaria finished. “It’s fine, I have like six more things that I’m better at.”

Blair frowned harder. With her face all scrunched up like that, Aquaria thought she looked a lot like a little pug puppy. “Aren’t you going to take this date seriously?” Blair pleaded.

“Probably. I don’t even know her. We’ll see how it goes and whatnot.”

“Well, I’ll just have to be excited enough for the both of us!! Plus, you might as well already know her. See, I talked to Vixen who talked to her friend who talked to your date so it’s all going to work out great, you’ll see! And then when you fall in love we can do double dates!” Blair finished, beaming confidently. Minutes later, they pulled into the lot.

“This is my stop, I guess,” said Aquaria dryly, still not entirely enthused, and she stepped out of the vehicle. Blair revved her engine and waggled her fingers in a wave.

“Call me if you need me! And have fun for once!!” She flashed another trademark grin before driving off without another glance back, leaving Aquaria to walk into the bakery alone.

 

Aquaria drummed her fingers on the table as she waited, her fingernails making a satisfying click-click against the laminated wood. She skimmed the menu, checked her phone (it was still only 12:19), skimmed the menu again, took a long sip of water, pulled up Instagram. She was scrolling past a picture of her older sister Sharon doing something very illegal when she heard the tinkling of a bell at the bakery’s entrance. Aquaria looked up as Brianna, mismatched and visibly frazzled, hurried through the doorway. Spotting Aquaria, relief melted onto her face. She slid into Aquaria’s booth without a thought or an invitation.

“What time is it?”

“I’m getting deja vu,” replied Aquaria.

Seeing Brianna open her mouth again, Aquaria gave her a real answer. 

“12:26.”

Brianna’s shoulders relaxed and her jaw unclenched.

“Oh, thank god. I’m supposed to be meeting a friend at 12:30 and I’d die of embarrassment if I was late.”

Aquaria tapped her phone’s screen off and handed her roommate the menu.

“I’m meeting a friend, too,” she lied. “You’re welcome to wait with me until one of them gets here.”

“Sounds good to me,” Brianna smiled.

 

The minutes stretched as the two chatted about classes and parties and whatever else they could think of. For the three months they’d lived together, Aquaria realized, she didn’t know much about her roommate at all.

“Are you seriously an English major?” she asked Brianna incredulously.

“Did you think poor Yorick’s skull on our windowsill was purely decoration?”

“Actually, yeah. I almost asked to cover it in glitter for a project last month.”

“Y’know, that wouldn’t look half bad.”

Now and then, the doorbell would tinkle and they’d each remember they were supposed to be looking for someone. Conversation would halt for a moment, and upon seeing that it was just an employee or an older businessman or a woman with her four dogs, it would resume again.

 

**Blair - 1:07 PM**  
hows it going????  <3 <3

 

The buzz from Aquaria’s phone startled them both. Aquaria paused in the middle of a rant about the importance of color-matching one’s foundation and texted back.

 

**Aquaria - 1:08 PM**  
no one’s shown up. you sure it’s the right day?  
**Blair - 1:08 PM**  
im POSITIVE!! what do u mean no one showed up?? she had to have shown up! maybe u missed her?  
**Aquaria - 1:09 PM**  
i don’t know, blair. i’ve checked the door everytime someone walked in.  
maybe it would help if i had, you know, a picture or something?  
**Blair - 1:09 PM**  
im sorry aqua :( i dont have one!! shes blind for me too haha ive never met her  
**Blair - 1:10 PM**  
oh u must be so bored!! do u want me to come back and pick u up??  
**Aquaria - 1:10 PM**  
no, that’s alright. i think i’ll stay and wait things out. i’m not that bored  
**Blair - 1:11 PM**  
ok!! if u say so...... call me if u change ur mind! i wont hold it against u  <3 <3

 

Aquaria put her phone down and looked back up at Brianna, who was tap-tapping away on her own phone with a confused frown on her face.

“Something wrong?”

Brianna jumped a bit and looked back at Aquaria, seeming a bit embarrassed.

“No, nothing, it’s just. I don’t know where she could be.”

“Your friend?”

“Yeah. Well. Kind of.”

“Kind of?”

“Not really,” Brianna confessed.

“This is gonna sound stupid, but, I don’t really know who I’m waiting for.” She sighed and looked away from Aquaria.

“God,” she continued, half to Aquaria and half to herself. “That does sound dumb. I should probably explain. But it’s, like, a little pathetic? I don’t know. Just, don’t laugh, okay?”

“Hey,” Aquaria cut in. “Take a deep breath. Breathing is a generally good thing to do.”

Brianna paused and laughed a bit. “Generally?”

“Yeah. Not so good if you’re already dead. Then it’s just weird.”

Brianna giggled a little more and soon they were both laughing full-force, teary-eyed and well aware that it really wasn’t that funny, but unable to stop. Aquaria gained her composure first and took a deep breath. Brianna followed suit.

“What,” Aquaria began, “were we even talking about?”

Brianna had a blank look on her face, which slowly evolved into a sheepish grimace as she remembered what she’d been saying.

“Right, so. I don’t know who I’m meeting.”

“Oh, yeah. How come?”

“Well,” Brianna paused to take a sip of water. “My best friend Monét decided it was time to show me the world that real people live in, rather than leaving me to the millions of other perfectly good worlds of storybook characters. So she called up one of her own friends and set up some sort of blind date and—“

“Hold up,” Aquaria interrupted, the gears in her head spinning.

“You’re here..... for a blind date.”

“Yeah,” Brianna confirmed. “Kind of pitiful, huh?”

“Yeah– uh– I mean, no! No, totally not! I just didn’t think you were, um, uh, you’re.” Aquaria struggled, lost for words. She leaned in toward Brianna and whispered, “Are you gay?”

Brianna blushed a bright pink that, Aquaria noted internally, kind of clashed with her makeup.

“Yeah. Yeah, I am. Why do you—“

“— me too. I mean, I’m, I’m here for a blind date too, not that, well, and I’m also gay.”

Aquaria winced as she stumbled over her words again, and Brianna stared, her own sentence still unfinished. 

“You’re...” Brianna started, mouth slowly forming words again, “also here for a blind date.”

“Yes.”

“.... Yes.”

“......... Yes.”

“Okay.” Brianna paused and straightened. “So, Monét set me up. Who set you up?”

“My friend, Blair. Her girlfriend knows somebody who knows somebody and I’m meeting that second somebody here.”

“Her girlfriend,” Brianna started, then repeat herself. “Her girlfriend wouldn’t happen to be—“

“Vixen,” the two finished together. 

The girls stared at each other, wide-eyed and quiet. Several awkward seconds passed, until the silence was broken by the sound of Aquaria’s phone chiming loudly. She looked down at Blair’s contact photo vibrating on the table.

“I should probably—“

“—take that, yeah.”

Aquaria picked up without leaving the booth.

“Hello?”

“Hi! So I talked to Vixen who talked to her friend who said that her friend was totally definitely there and wondering where you were and so it was all a misunderstanding and she’s still somewhere in there you just gotta go find her!”

“Yeah. I think I did.”

“Oh! Really? So quickly?? That’s fantastic!! Let me know how everything goes and when you want me to come back and pick you up!!”

“Okay, Blair. I’m gonna go now.”

“Okaybyehavefun!!!!”

Aquaria clicked her phone off and turned back to Brianna, who was still staring at her.

“She was just wondering whether I’d found you,” Aquaria explained.

“Yeah.” Brianna held up her own phone. “I just got a pretty similar message from Monét.”

“Oh, cool.”

More silence.

“So.... what now?” Brianna asked.

“We could, like, go order something probably. We have been sitting here for a good forty minutes.”

 

Two lattes, one blueberry muffin and one buttered croissant later, Brianna and Aquaria walked out together to the parking lot.

“Did you drive here?”

“No,” Aquaria said. “Blair took me. I don’t have a car on campus.”

“Do you want me to take you back? I parked just over there.” Brianna pointed to a dented silver Altima near the back of the lot.

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

The car ride home was spent chatting over light pop music on the radio, and as they pulled into the lot near their dorm, Aquaria realized she’d had a far better time than she expected to. She also realized, upon feeling a series of rapid buzzes in her pocket, that she’d completely forgotten to text Blair again.

 

**Blair - 1:58 PM**  
everything ok?? i have a date 2nite with vix at 7 so i wanna be sure i get u home in time!!  <3  
**Blair - 2:06 PM**  
im just gonna assume ur having an amazing time with ur fantastic date! u can thank me later hehe ;)  
**Blair - 2:21 PM**  
tell me everything thats happening!!!!  
is she cute?  
is she nice??  
**Blair - 2:22 PM**  
are u totally in love yet???  
**You - 2:24 PM**  
i don’t need a ride home. have fun with vixen tonight! talk later  <3  
**Blair - 2:24 PM**  
OMG AQUA  
NOOOOOO DONT LEAVE ME HANGING  
i gotta know!!!!!!!!  
( . . . )

 

Aquaria turned her phone onto Do Not Disturb as she followed Brianna back into their room. But no sooner had they crossed the threshold, it seemed, than the spell had broken. They each went back to what they’d have been doing on any other Saturday: Brianna resumed parsing her throughly-annotated copy of Don Quixote, and Aquaria turned back to her latest fashion sketches. Every so often, she stole a glance back to her roommate’s bed in the hopes of seeing... something. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for in Brianna’s face, other than some sign, any sign, that a date had just happened. But, nothing. Brianna was fully absorbed in the novel. Several minutes passed in complete silence, save for the scratching of pencils and occasional turning of pages. After what seemed to Aquaria like ages, Brianna closed her book and cleared her throat.

“Aquaria?”

“Yeah?” Aquaria shot up far too quickly.

“Do you mind turning off that desk lamp? I think I’m gonna take a nap.”

Aquaria deflated as she went to switch off the light. “Sure thing.”

Soon, Brianna was asleep and Aquaria was alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!! i really hope you enjoyed this first chapter :) don’t worry, brianna doesn’t actually hate her or anything, aquaria is just an insecure baby with bad communication skills. and as always, feedback and comments are appreciated!! <3


	2. the party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “They were strangers again, like last Saturday hadn’t even happened.“  
> “Aquaria wasn’t about to let it be any skin off her back, she resolved. She had things to do, holidays to celebrate, and friends to celebrate with. And that’s how she ended up being dragged to Blair’s holiday party.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ft aquaria being a foolish drunk baby and having a mom-friend or two to take care of her :) there’s also more blair and vixen for those who enjoyed them last chapter!

Aquaria spent one week going about her usual business. She woke up (never on time), went to class, came home, sketched until all hours of the night, and went to sleep again. She was entirely on autopilot, and goddamn was it lonely. But she wasn’t about to let Brianna know that; the girl hadn’t given her a single glance for the last six days. They were strangers again, like last Saturday hadn’t even happened. And as far as Aquaria’s daily life was concerned, it hadn’t: she hadn’t even told Blair who the mystery date was with, or how it went. It was completely erased from history— both hers and Brianna’s, it seemed.

She didn’t let it cross her cool exterior, but Aquaria couldn’t help but feel wounded. Did she do something wrong? Say something wrong? Why else would Brianna ignore her for an entire week? No texts, no calls, no second dates. No “I had fun, how about you?” No nothing, not even chatting about their days. Eventually, she just faced the harsh truth that Brianna simply wasn’t into her. Aquaria wasn’t about to let it be any skin off her back, she resolved. She had things to do, holidays to celebrate, and friends to celebrate with. And that’s how she ended up being dragged to Blair’s holiday party.

Her house was pretty enough. It was small and contemporary, painted a neutral beige with a dark oak door standing off to the side. The rest was obscured by a ridiculous amount of Christmas decorations, flung across every surface and fully covering a few windows. Hell, there were even some white string lights wrapped around the mailbox. It was very Blair, Aquaria noted as she walked up the driveway and rang the doorbell.

“It’s open!” a muted voice called from inside. Aquaria opened the door to a large crowd of people milling about amongst even more decorations: string lights along each wall, a large Christmas tree in the corner, and at least three patches of mistletoe hanging from the low ceiling. Aquaria looked back to the hallway, where a very petite girl was busy squeezing her way through the crowd toward her.

“Aquaria!!” Blair yelled excitedly, breaking free of the last throng of bodies. “So glad you could make it!”

“Did I really have a choice?”

“Nope!” Blair beamed. “Come this way, Vixen‘s here too!!”

Blair led Aquaria into a brightly lit kitchen and gestured toward a group sitting around her table. Aquaria looked at each of them as Blair said their names.

“Well, you already know Vixen, and over there’s Asia—“

A tall girl with box braids and a red dress waved at her, and Aquaria waved back.

“— and this is Vanessa, and her sister Alexis is right there—“

The short girl next to Asia made a peace sign, while another, older-looking girl next to her smiled widely. Aquaria nodded at them, and turned toward the last two girls seated at the table. She grew pale.

“— and over here’s Monét! She brought—“

“I need a drink.” Aquaria interrupted, quickly looking away from the familiar face and all but running outside.

 

Aquaria ignored Blair’s voice and the pairs of confused eyes burning into her back as she slid back the glass door and escaped into the backyard. She was not about to deal with socializing with Brianna. Not now, not tonight. Not after Brianna had made it thoroughly clear that she didn’t want anything to do with her, romantically or otherwise. Aquaria eyed a tinsel-wrapped bottle of wine sitting cheerfully atop a picnic table. She really did need a drink. She quickly downed a cup, and was halfway through a second when Vixen burst through the door.

“Yo, what gives?”

Aquaria looked up from her Solo cup and blinked.

“What?”

“You heard me, what gives? Why’d you run out like that?”

“Don’t worry about it, just go enjoy the party.”

Vixen sighed, obviously annoyed, before sliding into the bench across from her.

“Kind of hard to enjoy a party when your girlfriend’s worried about her best friend.”

Aquaria took a long sip from her cup, finishing it.

“Well,” she started. “Let me make it easier. I’ll tell Blair I’m totally fine if you go get me something stronger to drink.”

Vixen looked sorely tempted, but then shook her head.

“I think Blair will kill me if I don’t at least try to figure out what’s up with you. Or worse, she’ll give me those puppy dog eyes that make you feel like you’re gonna die but then you don’t.”

Aquaria winced. She knew Vixen was right: falling victim to Blair’s sad-eyes was a fate worse than death. But she just wasn’t ready to talk.

“Seriously. I’m fine. It’s nothing. Bring her out here and I’ll let her fuss over me and you can go hang out with your friends and enjoy yourself. You don’t gotta be my mom and whatnot on her account.”

Vixen sighed again, but she got up from the table.

“If she gets too worried about you to enjoy her own party, I’ll kick your ass,” she said softly before going back inside. Aquaria knew that she meant it.

 

Not a minute later, Blair came hurrying out to the picnic table and plopped down right where her girlfriend had been, concern written all over her porcelain features. She looked into Aquaria’s eyes expectantly. “Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Spill! What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Aqua...”

“Nothing! Seriously!!”

“People don’t storm out of rooms when nothing’s wrong.”

“I’m just...”

For a second, Aquaria imagined telling her everything. All of it. That the girl she’d been almost introduced to was her roommate and also her blind date and also the person that has been giving her the cold shoulder for whatever reason and driving her completely fucking insane. She imagined Blair’s face, becoming more and more worried and sad. God, even in Aquaria’s imagination she got Blair’s sad-face of death and despair. Nope. No way.

“I’m just kinda stressed about finals and whatnot,” she finished lamely.

Blair looked like she bought the lie, though, as the frown lines slowly cleared from her face and were replaced with a flash of her trademark grin.

“Well, that’s an easy fix! Let’s just take your mind off of it! Consider your problems to be issues for a future Aquaria, and have some fun. It’s the holidays!!”

Blair took Aquaria’s hand and started to lead her back inside, but Aquaria drew back just before entering.

“I think I need to clear my head some more before I start mingling. Introvert and all that.”

Blair nodded understandingly before heading back to her party. Aquaria walked back to her spot at the picnic table, sat again, and put her head in her hands. Minutes later, she felt a tap and looked up. It was Vixen, with a half-empty bottle of Absolut Vodka in hand.

“I don’t know what you said and honestly I don’t care, but she’s happy now, so here. You said you wanted something stronger.” Vixen thrust the bottle toward Aquaria, who gingerly accepted it.

“Glad to help.”

Vixen nodded, satisfied, and turned to leave Aquaria in peace again.

“Thanks for the booze!” Aquaria called, a bit late, at Vixen’s retreating figure.

 

Aquaria turned the bottle around in her hands. Blair had told her to take her mind off the problem, and dammit she was going to. She decided to play a drinking game with herself: if she had a thought she didn’t like, she’d take a shot. Knowing where her head was at, it was an easy way to get ridiculously drunk, ridiculously quickly. Fine by her; she didn’t have much of a will or a reason to be sober just then. Even less did she want to go back inside. She’d run the risk of seeing Brianna— shot— and talking to her, and that couldn’t happen. If they talked, the date would come up, and— shot— they’d have to address all the bullshit the last week has been— shot. But maybe going back inside wasn’t the worst idea. After all, Brianna probably wouldn’t even want to talk to her— shot— if the last week has been any indication. If Aquaria had had any bad ideas recently, it was almost definitely the vodka.

She looked back in the direction of the house, the muffled sound of Jingle Bell Rock drifting toward her ears. She was normally a fan of Christmas music, but something about this song grated on her. She took another shot. How many was that? Four? Five? She didn’t remember. She didn’t really care. She took another shot. She stood up. She sat back down. She took another shot. She looked down at the bottle. She’d almost completely drained it. Aquaria knew she needed water if she didn’t want to go through hell in the morning. That meant going inside. Fantastic. She stood, shaking off the unsteady, dizzy sensation and the sudden blurs in her vision, and shuffled slowly indoors. Halfway to the kitchen, she froze in her tracks. Brianna was looking right at her.

 

Aquaria was very sure that she’d made at least one wrong choice tonight. She wasn’t sure if it was the vodka or the decision to go inside, but looking at Brianna’s bewildered stare, she decided it was definitely at least one of those. Aquaria sluggishly tried to maneuver past her into the kitchen, but Brianna caught up quickly and grabbed her arm.

“Hey,” she said gently. “Are you okay?”

Aquaria looked up and blew her hair out of her face.

“Absolutely...... fine. Why... do you ask?”

“Because you look like you’re gonna need Life Alert real soon.”

Taking in Aquaria’s puzzled expression, she explained, “You seemed like you were about to fall over.”

“I am...... completely okay.” Aquaria wrested her arm free and stumbled backward a step, before clambering onto a nearby armchair.

“Yeah, you look like you’re doing great.”

Awesome, now Brianna was looking at her with a stupid concerned look. Dammit, why did everyone have to be worried about her all the time?

“Seriously, do you want me to take you home or something? ‘Cause I will.”

“No!” Aquaria shouted quickly, and more loudly than she intended to. Brianna withdrew, looking almost wounded. She had no reason to feel hurt; if anyone should be hurt, it was Aquaria. Brianna sat down in a fold-out chair and pulled it toward her.

“What... are you doing?”

“Making sure that when you do inevitably fall, it’s not somewhere that’ll get you trampled.”

“I’m not... gonna fall,” Aquaria answered confidently, and stood to make her point. “I am...... a champion at standing.” She wobbled on her feet. “Now lemme alone.”

Brianna looked at the unsteady girl, one eyebrow raised.

“Absolutely not. You need a babysitter, or else you’re going to hurt yourself. How much did you drink?”

Aquaria thought for a moment.

“Not... enough.”

Brianna huffed, and seemed to make a decision. With one finger, she pushed Aquaria back into her seat. Ignoring her bubbling protests, Brianna got up and pointed at Aquaria.

“Don’t move.”

Then, Brianna hustled into the kitchen, leaving her alone.

 

“Can’t......” Aquaria began to herself, “tell _me_ what to do......”

She drew her arms up under her and lifted herself from the armchair. Off-balance, she began the long wobble to the front door. She didn’t know quite where she’d go once she left, but she’d figure out something. She lifted a leg and made one long, laborious step toward freedom. Then, two. Aquaria’s head bobbed, focused on her feet. Three. Her left foot was absurdly heavy. Was it always this heavy? Her fourth step was interrupted by a soft thud against her head. She had bumped into something. Her head was heavy too, Aquaria noticed. She looked up. It was Brianna.

“Halt!” Brianna said.

“No fair,” Aquaria complained. “You’re... fast.”

Brianna looked up at the girl before her.

“Back it up,” she commanded, gesturing toward Aquaria’s abandoned armchair.

Aquaria shook her head and pointed at the front door. “Time......” she began, “to go.”

“Not yet.” Brianna shook her own head, and held out something for Aquaria to take. It was a Solo cup.

“Okay, Aquaria,” she said. “It’s time for water!”

“Don’t... don’t want it. Not thirsty,” Aquaria told her, having entirely forgotten that water had been her purpose in going inside in the first place.

Brianna put the cup in her hand anyway, and sat her back down in the armchair. “Don’t care. It’s time to drink water because water is good for you.”

“Drink water,” Aquaria repeated. “Good for you. Drink water, pee clear, then cheer.”

Brianna looked completely confused, but smiled and nodded anyway.

“Yes, absolutely. Exactly what you said. Drink up.”

“Hmmm.” Aquaria thought for a moment, studying the plastic cup in her hand. “No.”

Brianna sighed, and then shrugged. “Okay,” she said. “It’s your funeral.”

Aquaria’s eyes grew wide.

“That’s a lie!” she shouted. “I’m not... gonna die,” she concluded more softly.

“I think it’s time to go back home, Aquaria.”

“Don’t... don’t want you to take me.” Aquaria thought it was awfully mean to insist that she go home from a party. Why did Brianna like being so mean to her?

Brianna ran her hands through her hair before making another decision. She pointed at Aquaria again.

“Don’t move. For real this time.”

She waited until Aquaria nodded before leaving again. Aquaria stayed put. Moving was a lot of effort. Brianna came back seconds later, someone else in tow.

 

“Blair!” Aquaria grinned at the familiar face and tried to hold out her arms, before giving up and letting them drop again. “Merry Christmas!”

Blair gave a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and sat down next to Aquaria.

“You know,” she began quietly, “this isn’t quite what I meant when I told you to forget about your problems.”

“Didn’t work either. Problems... problem’s still there.”

“Yeah.” Blair seemed to grow a bit sad. “Problems don’t go away when you drink. Sometimes they get worse.”

Aquaria pointed to Brianna. “She says... I gotta go home. But I wanna...... stay with you, though.”

Blair looked up at Brianna, who only shrugged, before turning back to Aquaria. “Honey, I think she’s right. You should go get some sleep.”

Aquaria pouted. Brianna had somehow convinced Blair to be mean to her too. She yawned, despite herself. “Don’t wanna.”

“I’m gonna have Brianna take you home, okay?”

Aquaria was about to protest again, but making words was a lot of work. She realized it was a whole lot easier not to speak, or move, or keep her eyes open. She shut her eyes and leaned back in her chair. “Okay,” she heard Brianna say from above her, and then she felt strong arms lifting her from the seat. She felt herself being steadily moved, then bumped and jostled around by various bodies, and then she felt the cool outside air on her face. A moment later, she was deposited gently into a car seat, strapped in, and then she was off.

 

Aquaria awoke to the sound of an engine shutting off and a car door opening. She cracked open one eye as she felt her seatbelt being taken off, but her companion didn’t seem to notice. Aquaria didn’t speak. It was still too much effort. She felt herself being scooped back up and decided she was far too tired to protest. Instead, she closed her eye again and nestled closer to the warm touch. She felt gentle bumps as she was carried up the stairs— their dorm elevator had been out of order for weeks— and halfway up the second flight, she finally found enough energy to stir.

“So you’re awake,” Brianna said as she moved to set Aquaria down. “How do you feel?”

“Ugh,” was Aquaria’s only reply. She attempted to trudge up the stairs after Brianna, but tripped over the third one and plopped herself onto the floor.

Brianna looked backwards when she heard the thump. “Alright,” she said in that practical voice she had taken on. “Time to come back up, yeah?” She held out her arms for emphasis and stepped back down the stairwell.

“No,” said Aquaria dumbly, “I can do it.” She knew she probably couldn’t, but damn if she wasn’t going to try. Brianna, one eyebrow cocked, ascended a few steps and watched. Aquaria decided that crawling was far less undignified than allowing herself to be carried again, so that’s just what she did. One step after the next, on her hands and knees she went. Brianna stood waiting for her at the top of the flight. She made it, many laborious seconds later. She stood unsteadily and brushed herself off.

“Time for sleep?”

“Time for sleep,” Brianna confirmed.

The pair walked (well, Brianna walked— Aquaria stumbled) back to their dorm.

 

Before Brianna could reach for her purse, Aquaria wrestled her own room key from her pocket and held it up triumphantly.

“You’re not gonna be able to do that.”

“Yeah I am, watch.”

Aquaria made sure Brianna’s eyes were on her as she swung the key toward the keyhole. She pushed the key in... and missed.

“Are you sure that you—“

“—I can _do_ it,” Aquaria insisted, before missing twice more in rapid succession.

“Let me at least help.” Brianna moved in, placing her hands on Aquaria’s, and guiding them steadily to the lock. She pressed the key, still clenched tightly in Aquaria’s hands, into the hole and twisted. The door swung open.

“See?” Aquaria said, before sticking out her tongue. “Told you I could do it.”

 

Once they were in the door, Aquaria discovered that not moving took up so much less of her energy than moving did. Clearly, it was the better idea. She stopped about five feet short of her bed, and sat on a pile of unfolded laundry.

“Oh, no,” Brianna said, turning around. “It’s not time to sit. It’s time to sleep.”

“I can sleep here.”

“Your back is gonna hurt like crazy if you do. Come on, let’s get you into bed.”

Aquaria blinked a few times as Brianna moved toward her.

“Buy me dinner first,” she mumbled, and burrowed under a couple shirts.

“She can tell jokes, too! The total package.” Brianna knelt down in front of Aquaria, preparing to lift her again. Aquaria responded by crossing her arms and trying to weigh more. It didn’t work. Brianna effortlessly scooped her back up and deposited her onto her bed.

“Why...” Aquaria tried to form her question correctly, “why are you so nice to me, and also mean to me?”

Brianna gave her a confused look.

“Like... you don’t talk to me for, for a whole week, and you ignore me and now, now... now you’re nice again and you take me home and you, you do other nice things and whatnot.”

Brianna sighed and moved to sit beside Aquaria on the bed.

“I wasn’t ignoring you. You were ignoring me. We got home on Saturday and everything was fine, and then you didn’t text or call or anything, and it seemed like something just... went sour, for reasons unspoken. I figured you just didn’t like me, and it sure seemed that way from how you were avoiding me at that party tonight.”

At some point Brianna started talking more to herself than to Aquaria, who, for all her inebriation, was listening intently.

“I mean, God, you couldn’t even look at me without needing to leave the room and to be honest, I’m still not convinced you don’t hate me for who-knows-why. The only reason we’re even talking to each other right now is because you’re drunk. You probably won’t even remember this tomorrow morning and things will be back at square one.”

“I don’t hate you,” Aquaria said in a small voice.

“We’ll see if you feel that way tomorrow,” Brianna replied, unconvinced.

Aquaria took Brianna’s wrist in her hands. “I _don’t_. I promise.” She paused a second. “Do you hate me?”

Brianna sighed. “No, I don’t hate you.”

“I made the party bad for you.”

“No. You just needed someone to take care of you, and I volunteered.”

“I got very drunk.”

“You still are drunk.”

Aquaria looked up at Brianna sadly. “Did I ruin Christmas?”

Brianna started laughing, and didn’t stop for a long time.

Still wheezing, she replied, “No, it’s fine. I’m Jewish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> because every story has to have conflict, right? i promise promise things will get better for the both of them soon! i hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please comment and let me know what you think! <3


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